I got a chance to talk to both on Tuesday night and you could sense the excitement in their voices. Here’s a little of what they had to say:

Matthew Purke, Klein

Drafted 14th overall by Texas Rangers

“I’m glad to stay in Texas. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

On whether he thought long ago that he’d ever be a first-round pick:

“You want to be. Everyone wants to be in that elite group in the first round. After my junior year and I was able to accomplish things and play in the Aflac (All-American game) and with Team USA and all that – I knew that God had blessed me with a gift and a great opportunity.”

On the potential of working under Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, the Rangers’ team president:

“It’s a great thought to think about. The man is by far the best pitcher ever and he is totally reorganizing that organization and bringing them back to prestige. It’s great to know he’s going to be watching over you.”

I also talked to Purke’s father, Lawrence, who – like the rest of the Purke family – has been by Matt’s side throughout this entire process and has seemd to handle it with grace.

Here are some thoughts from proud papa:

“It’s a special day, obviously because we have worked hard towards this – us as a family. His mom and I and his older brother Jason – we’ve spent a lot of time on the road. We’ve put an excessive amount of miles on our vehicles. We’ve always thought that Matt was special but now we know that major league baseball thinks he’s special. With that being said, sometimes you wonder, where do you really stand? You think of all the thousands of thousands of kids that had the opportunity. God has blessed us tremendously today.”

Randal Grichuk

Drafted 24th overall by Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On whether he thought he was going to be a first-round pick:

“I had a couple of teams saying that they were interested in the first round but there was never a for sure ‘yes.’ I knew Anaheim had interest. When the 24th pick came, I just somehow got popped in there.”

“I never really thought that it’d be this high. I thought maybe in the middle rounds. I never thought in the first round. I got a good breakout (junior season) that got me an offer to (Arizona). I thought it was an honor to just keep playing the game I love in college, and if the MLB didn’t feel like he was good enough, I’d move on. Eventually, scouts kept coming to games, calling, having house visits, then there were chances, third round, second round, first round.”